Stuck on What’s Behind
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:13-14
There is an interesting article regarding the Prairie View Panthers who, back in the 90s, set a record that might stand forever. Between 1989 and 1998, Prairie View lost 80 straight games, setting the longest losing streak in the history of the NCAA. Nearly one decade and 80 straight games had gone by and yet no victory for the Panthers.
Surprisingly, even with all those losses, the Prairie View Panther fans kept coming to the games. It was an interesting thing because typically fans stay home when things aren’t going very well.
But not these fans. They kept supporting each home game, even though they had not won a game in nine seasons. Finally, after almost 10 years, they won a game against Langston University.
After the game, a reporter asked the head coach, why do you think the Panther fans kept coming out knowing that you all would probably lose? His response was simple, “Even though we had lost every game for nine straight years, our fans kept coming because they believed winning was still possible, as we did tonight.”
When I read this, it got me thinking; many people miss what is potentially ahead of them because they get stuck and hung up on what’s behind them. They miss life’s wins because of life’s losses.
But Paul instructs us otherwise. Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Are you struggling to move on from your past? Be careful. You might just miss something great up ahead because you are stuck on what’s behind. Instead, as Paul instructs us, look what lies ahead, and press on, no matter what is in your past, there are greater things ahead.
There is an interesting article regarding the Prairie View Panthers who, back in the 90s, set a record that might stand forever. Between 1989 and 1998, Prairie View lost 80 straight games, setting the longest losing streak in the history of the NCAA. Nearly one decade and 80 straight games had gone by and yet no victory for the Panthers.
Surprisingly, even with all those losses, the Prairie View Panther fans kept coming to the games. It was an interesting thing because typically fans stay home when things aren’t going very well.
But not these fans. They kept supporting each home game, even though they had not won a game in nine seasons. Finally, after almost 10 years, they won a game against Langston University.
After the game, a reporter asked the head coach, why do you think the Panther fans kept coming out knowing that you all would probably lose? His response was simple, “Even though we had lost every game for nine straight years, our fans kept coming because they believed winning was still possible, as we did tonight.”
When I read this, it got me thinking; many people miss what is potentially ahead of them because they get stuck and hung up on what’s behind them. They miss life’s wins because of life’s losses.
But Paul instructs us otherwise. Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Are you struggling to move on from your past? Be careful. You might just miss something great up ahead because you are stuck on what’s behind. Instead, as Paul instructs us, look what lies ahead, and press on, no matter what is in your past, there are greater things ahead.
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